"I wanted to remain in the cricket field"- Shubham Dubey's strong mindset during the toil before IPL 2024 jackpot

Vidarbha cricketer Shubham Dubey is one of the most exciting uncapped Indian batters to watch out for in the IPL 2024 season. The left-hander has been picked by the Rajasthan Royals (RR) for INR 5.8 crore and the demand he generated is a testament to his impressive performances in domestic cricket.

Dubey overcame a lot of hardships, including his family's precarious financial situation, to fulfill his dream of becoming a professional cricketer. He played tennis ball cricket early on in his career.

However, Shubham Dubey didn't get disheartened by the circumstances and finally, at the age of 29, has an opportunity to grab the limelight on the grand IPL stage. Speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda, the left-hander opened up on his journey and said:

"I was certain that even if I didn't make it as a professional cricketer, I wanted to do coaching. I wanted to remain in the cricket field. My family never asked me questions about my future and never cross-questioned about my whereabouts. I just kept following my process and as they say, when things were on the line, I produced a good season for Vidarbha and got picked by the Royals."

Dubey scored 221 runs in seven games for Vidarbha in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2023/24 at a fantastic strike rate of 187.28. His standout performance was against Bengal, where he scored a match-winning 58* off 20 balls and helped Vidarbha chase a mammoth target of 213.

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Shubham Dubey talks about his breakout season at Vidarbha

Shubham Dubey shared the dressing room with some experienced and quality batters like Karun Nair and Jitesh Sharma. He opened up about the insights he gained from speaking to the veteran players and shed light on how they backed him to play his game no matter what the situation.

On this, he stated:

"I knew I had to keep performing and it was all about just one game where I could be at the right place at the right time. Jitesh, Karun Nair, etc. kept speaking to me whenever I asked them for advice and whenever I got dismissed, I would ask them if I could have played the shot in a better way. They backed me play my explosive game irrespective of the results."

The Rajasthan Royals have a top-heavy batting line-up and with Devdutt Padikkal traded out, Riyan Parag and Shimron Hetmyer could move higher up the order. This could well make a spot for Shubham Dubey to showcase his finishing ability and add the X-factor to the Royals' batting.